Chapter 1
THE BLIZZARD RAGED, and within the endless expanse of snow, an army coiled like a serpent. Thousands of cavalrymen surged after a lone warrior clad in black armor, the steed beneath him galloping so hard and fast that blood foamed from its nostrils. A storm of arrows rained down upon him, darkening the snowy fields.
“Foolish! Arrogant!” The pursuing general shouted over the distance, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll surrender and return to Dongdu with me to stand trial!”
“Even you betray me!” the warrior roared back furiously.
“Jianhong!” Another formation of a thousand swarmed in from his flank. In that moment, enemy forces blanketed the snow as far as the eye could see. A deep, resounding voice rang out from the reinforcements. “Your Highness, you have no one left. You cannot do this alone—why drag this out? Continue to resist, and you will only ensure more soldiers lose their lives. Do your former brothers-in-arms mean nothing to you?”
“Brothers-in-arms?” the warrior sneered, sheathing his sword. “The oaths of the past have turned to lies. Who remembers what promises we made back then?! Must you overthrow me at all costs, even if you sacrifice the lives of every soldier here today?”
“There is little difference between life and death—but though the living world is vast, it no longer holds a place for you!”
War drums pounded amid the swirling snow.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The beat was like the footsteps of a colossal god walking into the world from the infinite bounds of the horizon, every step stirring up a squall that veiled the sky and blotted out the sun.
“Give up, Your Highness. You have nowhere to run.”
Upon the hill, a third formation of cavalry loomed into view within the blizzard, and a young, handsome general took off his helmet and tossed it into the snow. The freezing winds carried the young man’s voice to his ears. “How about you hand over the Guardian, enjoy a cup of wine, and I’ll send you on your way to the afterlife? Everyone must someday die.” His voice was mellow over the storm. “So why must you be so stubborn?”
“You’re right.” Li Jianhong’s robe fluttered beneath his armor. He sat up in the saddle amid the wind and snow and spurred his horse onward, calling out, “Everyone must die, but it is not yet my time. The one to lose their life today…will not be me!”
Far away from Yubi Pass, where they fought, there rose the lonely melody of a Qiang flute, mingling with the powdery snow to scatter on the ground. The cavalry raised their spears to the drumbeat; when it stopped, the three formations would merge and launch their thousands of spears at the Prince of Beiliang, Li Jianhong.
“Enough talk,” Li Jianhong said, his voice cold. “Who wants to die first?”
“If you wish to fight to the death here and abandon your former glory, you may,” the young general roared. “A thousand gold and the title of marquis to whoever takes Li Jianhong’s head today!”
The drumming ceased, the cavalry shouted in unison, and with a roar that echoed between heaven and earth, Li Jianhong wheeled around and spurred his horse at a reckless gallop toward the army streaming down the snowy slope. The troops yelled as they charged downhill.
Tens of thousands surrounded one man, soldiers cutting toward the formation’s center. Li Jianhong dropped the reins and pressed his knees to his horse’s flanks. Left hand hefting a longspear and right hand unsheathing his blade, he charged against the tide of onrushing cavalrymen. The snowpack collapsed with a rumble, submerging the pursuing soldiers and their horses in wild, powdery snow.
Blood misted the air as Li Jianhong sliced through a charging cavalryman’s glaive with one hand, speared the galloping horse, and heaved it back toward the enemy. Limbs parted from bodies under his sword. Its sharp blade cut through iron like mud as it cleaved through the incoming hordes. It was ten thousand to one, but Li Jianhong slashed through the formation like a tiger among a flock of sheep.
His steed approached a cliff towering thousands of feet above the darkness below. The lip collapsed under its hooves with a thunderous crash, and, unable to escape, countless men and horses tumbled in with the debris. At the edge of the abyss, Li Jianhong spurred his warhorse into a jump.
For a moment, all that could be heard on the snowy hill was a long whinny, the slowing of footsteps in the snow, and the din of the avalanche. The sky darkened, as if a cloud had rolled over the north. The commander of the pursuing troops stopped his horse at the edge of the cliff, a scattering of fine snow dusted over his copper armor. “General, we couldn’t find the traitor.”
“No matter. Withdraw for now.”